Is Star Wars Relying Too Heavily on Nostalgia?

Ayo Norman - Williams
Star Wars
Star Wars

Star Wars is at its best when it’s doing something new. The original trilogy revolutionised filmmaking in the 1970s and ’80s. It showed audiences a bold new vision nobody had seen before. The prequel trilogy arrived in the late ’90s and attempted to do the same thing. While much maligned, the prequels managed to expand the Star Wars universe by showing us a new side of the galaxy.

Since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, though, it’s been a different story. Instead of Disney finding its own identity within the franchise, the company’s films — save for one exception — lean on classic Star Wars’ nostalgia. This overreliance on the past is the wrong path for the franchise, and with Solo: A Star Wars Story on the horizon, it appears we are in for more of the same.

Where Star Wars Is Going Wrong

In 2015, Disney revitalised Star Wars with Episode VII: The Force Awakens. It was the first theatrical Star Wars release in ten years, and it was wildly successful. The film grossed over $2 billion worldwide and reignited the public’s love for the franchise. But there were issues with Episode VII. It seemed more than content to look back at A New Hope instead of forging its own path.

The poster for The Force Awakens.
'The Force Awakens' (literally) put nostalgia front and centre, with Han and Leia at the forefront of the story.

The film liberally borrowed from Episode IV. It took plot points, themes and characters, but, this time, it made sense to do so. Disney’s best bet to reintroduce the franchise to the world was to play it safe and bank on the familiar. It was the best way to simultaneously ease older fans back in and introduce new fans to the franchise.

About a year after The Force Awakens‘ release came the first standalone film in the saga, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. After Episode VII’s massive success, Rogue One had free reign to go anywhere and do anything. There was no chance it would fail. But for the first anthology film, Disney decided to (again) play it safe. Rogue One told the story of the rebels who stole the Death Star plans — a footnote in A New Hope’s opening crawl. The film ended minutes before Episode IV, and it featured classic heroes and villains.

Now, this isn’t inherently a bad thing. Rogue One was an interesting story, after all. Though chained to the older films, it brought in new characters and showed off new planets. It also played out like a war film — a huge departure from previous Star Wars films. But the fact that it was the second film in a row to stick so closely to A New Hope was worrying. It showed that Disney was content using the existing films as a crutch. Was this a cover for a lack of ideas, or direction?

Taking Star Wars to New Heights

In December 2017, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi released. It is the most divisive film the Star Wars franchise has seen yet. The critical consensus was glowing; the audience’s reception far less so. Many of the character, story and structural choices were, and still are, controversial. Yet, The Last Jedi was exactly what Star Wars needed.

This doesn’t mean that the community’s complaints were unfounded. The pacing was spotty, there were mysteries from Episode VII that didn’t pan out, and many of the conflicts could have been resolved with simple communication. But The Last Jedi did things Star Wars has never seen before, and that’s crucial if Star Wars is going to thrive in the future. It’s easy to say the film subverted expectations for the sake of it. But without radical changes, the series will stagnate.

Rey and Kylo Ren's faces.
The connection between these two was some of the best material in any 'Star Wars' film.

The high points in The Last Jedi are some of the best Star Wars has ever seen. The demystification of the Force, Rey and Kylo’s connection, Luke’s struggles with failure, and his subsequent final stand all pushed the franchise into new territory. As such, The Last Jedi reached new heights.

The Biggest Step Backwards

Then comes Solo: A Star Wars Story. If The Last Jedi was Disney taking a step forward, then Solo is the company taking three steps backwards. Sure, we all love Han Solo, one of the standout characters from the original trilogy. He starts out as a loveable rogue with a mysterious past and eventually becomes a rebellion hero. But he was also a huge part of The Force Awakens, which brought about his death and the end of his story. Why give a beloved character with a clear beginning middle, and end to his arc more screen time?

A promotional image for Solo, featuring Han, Lando, Chewbacca and Qi'ra, with the Millennium Falcon.
Classic characters, a classic ship, and a story we don't need.

Because it’s safe. Solo is the ultimate example of Disney’s nostalgia mining. The company knows how much fans love Han, so they’re going for the easy win. It’s a shame. The Last Jedi showed us that Disney was willing to go to places that longtime fans may not be comfortable exploring. But now, they’re going right back to where they were before.

To be fair, Solo does look like it’s shaping up to be a good movie. Like Rogue One, it’s exploring a new genre, the heist film. It’s introducing brand new characters, vehicles and settings. But that doesn’t change the fact that Disney needs to stop relying so much on the original trilogy. It brings into question why Disney even continues to make Star Wars films. Why bother if they’re all going to be derivative of the franchise’s previous entries?

A New Hope for the Series

As frustrating as this all may be, there is still hope. Within the next few years, we’ll be seeing brand new Star Wars content. A new trilogy, a second separate film series, and a live-action TV show are all in the works, and none are linked to the Skywalker Saga. Disney now has plenty of chances to go wild and try something new.

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
One of the new Star Wars series will be helmed by 'Game of Thrones' creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Star Wars has incredible potential. The galaxy far, far away is so expansive that any story could be told with any character. Instead of reminding us of the characters and stories we already love, give us new ones. We’re getting a new Star Wars film every year for the foreseeable future. Nostalgia can only take us so far.

Ayo Norman - Williams
Ayo is a young animator/writer/aspiring games designer who finds it very difficult to write about himself in the third person.